Microsoft giant Bill Gates should pick up stakes and move to the Peoples Republic of China.
Gates should relocate to the world's next superpower because that's where his loyalties seem to be.
In a gaggle of business moves that underline allegiance to Communist China, Microsoft has now erased the popular anti-Blog.
Bloggers, who broke the story of the american giant and its deals with Beijing, are picking up the interest of the mainstream media.
"On Dec. 30 Beijing-based New York Times researcher Zhao Jing found that the Microsoft service, MSN Spaces, deleted entries in his heavily-trafficked blog, which frequently discussed sensitive topics restricted by the Chinese government," (Microsoft erases anti-Blog, asiaMedia Media News Daily, Jan. 17, 2006). "In the midst of New Year's celebrations, bloggers who write about China picked up Zhao's story, initially noted by Roland Soong in his blog EastSouthWestNorth. Microsoft's actions were subsequently dissected by Rebecca MacKinnon in her Jan. 3 RConversion blog entry. While the company's controversial decision to censor Zhao first escaped notice from mainstream media outlets, Soong, Mackinnon and a few foreign trade online publications such as aFX News Limited and ZDNet provided coverage."
The outside world has long recognized that blogger dissenters are not safe in China, which now has a small army of Internet police. But why would Microsoft, who banked a fortune in the free enterprise system of the West, play a Big Brother role on Roland Soong?
Soong speculates that another blog, written by Qin Chen, with a post called The Hidden Threat of anti and the Cunning of MSN on Bokee.com may have played a role in Microsoft's actions.
This is not the first time Microsoft has played a heavy hand with Internet dissenters vulnerable to the Chinese communist government.
Microsoft began generating criticism last summer, soon after the launch of its portal, because MSN Spaces users frequently experience restrictions whey they used certain words prohibited by the Chinese state.
Last May, Microsoft partnered with Shanghai alliance to launch a web portal, MSN China, which links to MSN Spaces, a free service that enables its members to create blogs to share their thoughts and photos.
You'd think that an american giant like Microsoft wouldn't have to tow the line for the Chinese government.
But Microsoft marketing director adam Sohn told the South China Morning Post that Microsoft complies with the laws of all and any country it does business with. "Like when you go into business in any country, you do it in full compliance with the laws and regulations of that country. It's not something we think twice about," Sohn said.
But not every country imprisons farmers who write essays and post them to the Internet. Human rights activists have documented that is precisely what China does.
Microsoft also seems to be playing neutral when it comes to the mounting high-tech sabotage, conducted by China. British MPs found themselves the latest victims of sabotage by Chinese cyber criminals.
"as they packed their briefcases for the Christmas break, MPs in Westminster were unaware they bad been the targets of one of the most audacious hacking attempts ever mounted." (Peter Warren, The Guardian, Jan. 19, 2006).
"The Guardian has learned that the oldest modern democracy came under a sustained attack aimed at stealing sensitive information. It was launched by cyber criminals almost certainly operating in the world's next superpower, China.
"The hi-tech industrial espionage involved a series of innocuous-looking emails targeted at secretaries, researchers, parliamentary staff and even MPs themselves. Each one was specifically tailored to the individual who would receive it.
"Once opened, these emails tried to download sophisticated spyware that hunts through the recipient's computer and network for potentially valuable documents, which would be automatically sent back to the hackers without the user's knowledge,
"Fortunately, the attack, which took place earlier in 2005, was thwarted by parliament's sophisticated Internet security system; no sensitive data is thought to have been lost."
Bill Gates is big in China. So big that New York Times scribe Thomas Friedman, writing about the rise of China points out that "when Bill Gates goes to China, young people line up for hours and hang from the rafters just to listen to him."
"In China," he says, "Bill Gates is Britney Spears. In North america, Britney Spears is Britney Spears."
On Tuesday it was announced that Microsoft would participate in ManyOne network, touted as the "PBS of the Web" with global figures such as UN Poster Boy Maurice Strong and General Wesley Clark, former candidate for U.S. President.
"ManyOne has been carefully designed with a socially-responsible ownership, governance and advisory architecture to ensure that it can play a pivotal role in the ethical evolution of the Internet and the World Wide Web," stated a ManyOne media release.
Bill Gates, who calls Strong, former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev and Ted Turner personal friends, is founding CEO of a company that does big business with a country that crushes human rights and is willing to spy and cheat to make it to superpower status.
Meanwhile, when Bill Gates is in China he's looking more like Matta Hari than Britney Spears.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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